Exhausted and yet awake, this is what goes wrong

The accelerator pedal is your sleep pressure; the brake pedal is everything that holds sleep back, such as worrying or a disrupted biological clock

The book Set It & Forget It Daniel Erichsen presents a thought-provoking, but also somewhat simplistic view of insomnia. According to him, it is primarily the fear of not sleeping that keeps us awake. And he is not the only one to state this; many other sleep experts also emphasize the role of mental tension.

The core of Erichsen's message: the harder you try to sleep, the less successful you are. His advice is therefore striking: stop trying, and sleep will follow naturally. In doing so, he sets himself apart from classic advice such as sleep hygiene, fixed bedtimes, and limiting screen time.

Yet he is no charlatan. As a sleep physician and founder of The Sleep School , he has helped many people. And let's be honest: for people who get bogged down in sleep rules and control, his approach can be enormously liberating.

But there is also a downside to it.

Sometimes stopping trying is not enough.

In my work as a sleep coach, I see that 'stopping trying' doesn't work for everyone. Sometimes it actually leads to passivity or confusion. Moreover, insomnia is rarely one-dimensional. Not everyone lies awake out of fear alone. Biology, behavior, rhythm, and conditioning often play just as much of a role. Consider a disrupted internal clock, a body that no longer knows when to sleep, or a brain that associates the bed with lying awake.

The accelerator and brake pedal

What I am enthusiastic about, however, is the metaphor Erichsen uses: that of the accelerator and brake pedal.

• The brake pedal represents everything that sleep makes possible: fatigue, relaxation, and letting go.

• The accelerator pedal represents everything that keeps you awake: stress, worrying, alertness, and control.

  
  

Sleep doesn't come from slamming on the brakes, but from letting go of the accelerator.

Erichsen describes four combinations that clarify a great deal:

1. Gas low + brake high → good sleep

You are relaxed and tired. Result: you fall asleep easily and sleep through the night.

2. Gas high + brake high → insomnia

You are tired, but also tense or alert. The result: exhausted, but awake. This is classic insomnia.

3. Gas low + brake low → gently wake up

You are relaxed, but not sleepy. Result: you lie awake peacefully. No problem, just little sleep pressure.

4. Gas high + brake low → wide awake

You are not tired and you are 'on'. Result: logically, you can't sleep.

According to Erichsen, most people with insomnia are in situation 2: tired, but overactive.

My perspective as a sleep coach

I, too, focus on the accelerator in most cases for people with insomnia. But where Erichsen primarily looks at anxiety and control, I see that the accelerator is also pressed by:

• Biological factors (such as stress hormones)

• Behavior (such as working late into the evening)

• Rhythm (disruption of your biological clock)

• Conditioning (associating your bed/bedroom with lying awake)

  
  

In other words: the accelerator pedal has multiple causes. And that also means that the solution must be broader than just 'stop trying'.

Powerful metaphor

The metaphor of the accelerator and brake pedal is powerful because it provides insight. It shows that insomnia is not a lack of sleep capacity, but a disruption of balance. It is something that arises when your system receives the right signals and nothing stands in the way anymore.